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Further down this page are the rules for the next tournament.

Final Standings from BKN PBeM #9

1. Steve Andriakos

2. Dan Leader

3. Don Greenwood

4. Henry Jones

5.Dennis Nicholson

6. Jason Albert

Here is Steve's account of the contest along with some editing by Dan, his opponent:

The game started with the Allies capturing all 4 bridges bordering St-Mere-Eglise and the standard attack in Merville (which failed). The Naval Bombardments only spent the CA on Juno Beach & the unit in Utah. The Air Bombardments spent both the CAs in Omaha & Port-en Bessin. All beaches had interdiction die rolls which the Allies survived mostly intact. Now, the game can be split into 2 parts. The first part belonged to the Allies. With the next 45 dice rolls, the Allies won 25, the Germans 11 with 8 being even (with the average die roll for the Allies 7.98 and for the Germans 6.91). The short day ended with the Allies controlling Utah, Gold and Juno Beaches with Omaha and Sword being contested. The Germans did capture the 50-52 Bridge but an 4:5 attack by the Allies almost captured St-Mere-Elise making CA unit D2.

The 7th started with the Allies clearing out Omaha Beach, Trevieres and Port-en-Bessin and contesting Grandcamp. St-Mere-Eglise was assaulted and the Germans held their ground with minimum casualties. The Americans were able to get a unit of the 29th into Colombieres. The British overran Sword Beach and assaulted into Caen and with using the advantage was able to contest Caen. Bayeux and Bretteville were both assaulted and captured and a unit was able to get into Balleroy and on the same impulse an attack by the British into Grandcamp was successful and the Advantage was reverted back to the Allies. The long day ended on the 8th impulse. The turning point of the game was when the Allies on their regroup left only one fresh and one D1 unit in Caen, we just didn't realize it at the time.

The 8th saw the Allies attacking & winning the following victory point areas: Merville, Foret de Cerisy and Isigny giving them a total of 5.6 victory points. They also advanced into Verson & Evercy. Bombardments into St-Mere-Eglise saw numerous units D1 & D2. The only positive action for the Germans was the Bombardment into Isigny making all three infantry units of the 1st Division D1. Another long day ended on the 7th impulse.

The 9th started with the British from Juno Beach Approach attacking into Tilly and winning, giving the Allies 6.6 victory points. At this point, the Germans saw that he was in BIG trouble. The Germans had to do something to slow down the Allies and the only thing he sawwas to attack into Caen to try to kick out the British. So the Germans attacked into Caen needing a +1 on the die roll to kick the British out (this is the start of the second part of the game, and it belonged to the Germans. Over the next 47 die rolls, the Germans won 30 of them with the Allies winning only 13, with 4 ties.The Allies had an average dice roll of 6.91 and the Germans 7.98). The attack into Caen was a success and kicked the British out (with a +1 for the Germans on the die roll). The Allies thought about using the advantage, but declined to avoid the possibility of a German overrun. The Allies reinforced Juno Beach on the next impulse with the 3 units of the 7th Division. The Germans on the next impulse attacked into Juno Beach and got a good die roll so the Allies decided to use the Advantage to avoid a disaster on the beach. On the next impulse, the Allies counter-attacked into Juno and kicked the Germans out. Another German attack into Juno Beach was countered with the British responding by kicking the Germans out again. But the damage had been done, with much of the day wasted. The Americans attacked into St Jean-de-Daye and took control. The Germans counter-attacked twice and eliminated 2 units. Another long day

ended on the 8th impulse.

Day 10 saw the British back in Caen but later they lost an assault into Villars-Bocage despite good odds, resulting in 3 units D1. The Americans took Catz for another victory point but suffered 3 units D1 from a successful Artillery Bombardment by the Germans. The Americans also retook St Jean-de-Daye and contested Periers. Another long day ended on the 8th impulse.

The 11th started with the Germans attacking into lightly held Isigny and winning. This forced the Allies to counter-attack with his reinforcements from Omaha Approach which eliminated the German unit. Bombardments by the Allies into St-Mere-Eglise & Carentan inflictednumerous APs, making units spent, D1 and D2. The Germans responded by bombarding Isigny and all 4 units of the 9th infantry went D1. The Allies attacked St-Mere-Eglise @ 12:5 and won by only +1 after a -6 dice roll for no effect on the Germans. The Allies tried to repair the 34-44 bridge 3 times but failed each time forcing the Allies to attack at last @ 6:6 into Carentan across the river. This attack was foiled by rolling snake eyes, ending the day on impulse 4. There was little chance of any Allied victory after this turn, we both knew it. On the German refit phase, on their 1st attempt, the Germans repaired the 34-44 bridge to eliminate the Allied +2 construct marker. What irony!

June 12 started with the German destroying the 34-44 bridge, making the Allies start all over again with the bridge construction. The Americans did Air, Naval and Artillery bombardments with minor success. The Americans again attacked St-Mere-Eglise @ 12:7 which got them a Stalemate. The Americans finally repaired the 34-44 on their second try and attacked into Carentan and inflicted minor CPs. The game ended with the next impulse (4th) with an Artillery bombardment into Carentan that resulted in an Allied roll of three.

Requirements to Play:

you must be a member of the BPA; the BPA now has a special PBeM membership for only $10; go to http://www.boardgamers.org/bpaterms.htm

you must allow the game to be submitted to AREA; this will be done by the GM; no chits need be exchanged

you must own a physical copy of the game (in this case, owning the AH version is sufficient) and have an email address

you are required to use ACTS to keep a record of the game

TOURNAMENTRULES

Game: The standard one-week game of Breakout: Normandy. In a change from prior tournaments and in order to keep in congruence with the WBC Tournament, the L2 will be the only version being played. Reserves: Rule 12.53 per the L2 rules.Victory Points: Rule 22 per the L2 rules

Format: This will be a single elimination tournament. There will be no byes. When one becomes necessary, an Eliminator - an ineligible player - will be assigned as an opponent. The Eliminator cannot advance, but he can eliminate an opponent. All eliminated players and interested latecomers are urged to offer their services as an Eliminator.

Positions three through six will be resolved in the following manner: 3rd place goes to player who lost to the eventual winner in the 2nd last round; 4th place to the player who lost to the runner-up in the 2nd last round; 5th place to the player who lost to the eventual winner in the 3rd last round; and 6th place to the player who lost to the runner-up in the 3rd last round.

Time Limits: Each round will last for 5 months or until all matches have been completed, whichever comes first. There will be no adjudications of games at the end of the 5 months. Instead each player will indicate the amount of time they used to complete their side of the game and the side greater than 2.5 months in total time will be the automatic loser, no matter what the actual situation in the game is. I am hoping that in the spirit of good sportsmanship that players can agree on which player used the most time. If not, each player in a timely manner will submit evidence of how long he took to complete all of his moves. We will now have ACTS to assist in this process.

Playing Officials: Prior to the start of the tournament, two Assistant GMs will be named to assist the GM. Assistant GMs may participate in the tournament as active players and are eligible to play in all rounds and compete for awards and prizes just as any other player. The GM and Assistant GMs will not be allowed to issue rulings on questions or rule interpretations for matches in which they are personally involved.

Side Determination: Bidding for sides has always been a bit of a bugaboo for players. I know that I get confused at times myself and I get more questions on bidding than any other area of the rules. We will use the blind bid for all rounds of the tournament.

Blind bidding: You do not have to state a side preference; it will be assumed that you are bidding for the German side. You will then bid a number that represents the number of supply that you are willing to give the Allies to start the game. Thus, the higher the number you bid, the more likely you will get the German side. Conversely, the lower the number, the more likely you will get the Allied side. It is even possible to bid "negative supply" to increase your chances of getting the Allied side.

The difference between the bids is divided by 2 and then subtracted from the higher bid with fractions rounded up. So if player One bid 50 supply and player Two 30 supply, player Two would get the Allied supply with 40 in the "bank". These points can only be used for buying impulses and not for refitting units.

Another example: player #1 bids -10 supply hoping to get the Allies; player #2 bids 20 supply. The difference between these bids is 30 (try thinking of this as being on a number line); 30 divided by 2 is 15; 20 minus 15 is 5. Player #1 will get the Allies and have 5 SP in his back; player #2 will be the Germans with no supply in reserve.

Matching: Matching in every round will be completely at random. A random 4 digit number will be assigned to each player. These numbers will be sent to both assistant GM's for verification. Starting with the player with the lowest number, that player will be matched with the player with the next highest number, and so forth.

Computer Aides: All players are encouraged but not required to use computer aides. These aides facilitate speed of play, especially during refit and regroup phases, and can represent a permanent record of what has previously occurred in a game if a dispute should arise. Among those available are VASSAL ; one advantage of VASSAL is that it is operating system neutral and therefore workable not only with Windows but also with Macs and Linux. Cyberboardonly works with Windows and you have to be able to find a module of each particular game, although this is usually not a problem. Lastly there is Aide de Camp. If there is any discrepancy between the computer board and the physical board, such as counter values or map features,the latter always prevails.

Mistakes and Illegal Moves:First, the Internet Die Roll Error Handling Convention will be the default method of deciding disputes. Players can agree to use their own, but I think these are sensible. In addition, if a dispute arises, the decision of the GM in consultation with the assistant GM's will be final and the GM reserves the right to disqualify a player for deliberate or repeated illegal moves. In short, players should make every effort to work these things out for themselves and, then and only then, consult the GM.

8.13 will be enforced as follows. If a mistake is made, the player who received the illegal move has only two choices: either accept that move in all of its parts and aspects or have the offending player completely redo the move from the start. So if the allied player is executing a movement impulse with three parts, it is not possible to reroll just one part. The entire thing must be redone. If it is the refit, it is either the whole refit or none of it; if regroup, the whole or none of it. I would encourage players to point out an opponent's error if they are willing to do so. That is merely good sportsmanship. The above applies only to disputes. Obviously this doesn't cover every problem, but it will be the guiding principle for myself and the assistant GM's.

End of Your Turn: You should make it clear to your opponent when your turn has ended. Again, according to 8.13, once your opponent has moved one of his units, or a die has been rolled, it is not possible to change any part of your move. In some cases, it will be obvious that an impulse has ended, such as a naval or air bombardment. However, in cases where there happen to be multiple fresh units in the activated area, it may not be obvious to your opponent that you have ended your move; so please try to do this in the interest of faster play. This may also come into play if you have experienced a very adverse die roll (of course, in actual play this hardly ever happens) and are contemplating using the Advantage. If you have a quick response opponent, you may wish to indicate to him that you are considering using the Advantage before he can fire off a move to you and that you need a little time.

Internet Dice Rollers: It is permissible to use the honor system to roll dice, use playing cards, or use chits to decide random events as long as your opponent agrees. Most will want to use one of the internet dice rollers. Among those available are ACTS. One advantage of using this site (which is free) is that it sends an email of every activity to both players and also keeps a log of all those activities. Even if you are using a computer aide, this can be handy if there is a question about a previous move or dice roll.

Internet Die Roll Error Handling Convention:

Too many drs: use the ones you need discarding the rest. Do not reroll.

Not enough drs: use the ones you got and send for the rest.

If not specified, Attacker dr(s) first, then Defenders

No response from die roller: Best not to send for a second die roll. Wait about 24 hrs, if the drs still haven't shown, the original sender will notify the original receiver to send for the drs. When the receiver is notified he is to roll because of missing drs, and the receiver has yet to receive those drs, the receiver will send, and at that instant the original senders drs will not be used, even if they come in.

Multiple die roll requests: Use the drs the receiver got first.

If one gamer gets die rolls and the other doesn't and the email addresses were fine : use those dr's. Whoever got the dr's should forward them to the other gamer so he may inspect the email addresses, and if all is OK, use those drs.